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Tejas - the indigenously made Light-Combat single engine fighter - isn't enough to protect Indian skies, the India Air Force (IAF) has told the government. The response came after the South Block asked the IAF to scrap its plans of acquiring single-engine fighters from global, top sources told India Today.

The IAF said the Tejas is far behind its competitors like the JAS 39 Gripen manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab and the US made F-16 manufactured by Lockheed Martin, sources said.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is understood to have raised the issue following which the government asked the IAF to scrap its plans to acquire foreign made single engine fighters and go for the Indian made fighters only. Recently, the IAF made a presentation to the government to explain why Tejas alone can't meet India's requirements.

Documents accessed by India Today reveal that the IAF has told the government that the "endurance" of Tejas in combat is just about 59 minutes as against 3 hours of Gripen and nearly 4 fours for the F-16. Also, Tejas can carry a pay-load of about three tons against nearly six tons and seven tons by the Gripen and F-16 respectively."In other words, for target that needs about 36 bombs to be destroyed, one will have to deploy six Tejas as against just three Gripen or F-16," the IAF has told the government. The IAF has also said Tejas needs 20 hours of serving for every hour of flying as against six hours for Gripen and 3.5 hours for F-16.

In a presentation to the government, the IAF told that the endurance of TEJAS in combat is just about 59 minutes as against 3 hours of Gripen and nearly 4 hours of F-16. Though Tejas is small, it cannot carry as much ordnance as its competitors. It can carry a pay-load of just three tonnes as against Gripen’s capacity of six tonnes and F-16 seven tonnes. Moreover, the fighter jet also faces the hurdle of limited flying capability in a single sortie. While the Tejas can do just 300km, the other single-engine fighters can be effective over a radius of over 500km.

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“For example, a 486 kg titanium bar supplied by Russia is whittled down to a 15.9 kg tail component. The titanium shaved off is wasted. Similarly a wing bracket that weighs just 3.1 kg has to be fashioned from a titanium forging that weighs 27 kg…. manufacturing sophisticated raw materials like titanium extrusions in India is not economically viable for the tiny quantities needed for Su-30MKI fighters.”

An assembly line that wasn’t state-owned wouldn’t be wasting all that left-over titanium. Sources: India’s Business Standard, “Air Force likely to get entire Sukhoi-30MKI fleet by 2019”.

. A report seen by the Deccan Chronicle stated that “it was noticed while checking the records…that AL 31FP engines fitted in certain aircraft was in Cat B condition at the time of inspection / delivery to Indian Air Force (IAF).”

The stalemate between the Indian government and French aircraft manufacturing company Dassault over the supply of 126 fourth-generation Rafale fighter jets, was not so much because of pricing as much as the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL) competence to deliver on quality, top Indian Air Force sources have revealed to The Quint.

Su-30MKI aircraft during a flight-trial with BRAHMOS missile. A file photo.

NEW DELHI (PIB): BRAHMOS, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile created history on 22nd Nov 2017 after it was successfully flight-tested first time from the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea based target in the Bay of Bengal. The missile was gravity dropped from the Su-30 from fuselage, and the two stage missile’s engine fired up and straightway propelled towards the intended target at the sea in Bay of Bengal.

The successful maiden test firing of BRAHMOS Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) from Su-30MKI will significantly bolster the IAF’s air combat operations capability from stand-off ranges. BRAHMOS ALCM weighing 2.5 ton is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft modified by HAL to carry weapons.

BRAHMOS, the world-class weapon with multi-platform, multi-mission role is now capable of being launched from Land, Sea and Air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for India. Brahmos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPOM of Russia.

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In what may be a big push for Make in India, Air Force issues a tender for buying 83 more LCA Tejas fighter aircrafts to HAL

This would be the biggest contract to be awarded under the Make in India project by the Defence Ministry. The 83 Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) would be procured from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and would make for the Mark 1A version of the plane.

The project cost is expected to be over Rs 60,000 crore, senior defence ministry sources told India Today. The IAF has already placed orders for 20 LCA Mark 1 aircrafts which would be more of technology demonstrators but the IAF was more interested in having the LCA Mark 2, which would be a more capable and upgraded version of the indigenous plane in the making for over two decades.The HAL would first deliver the Mark 1 aircrafts to the IAF and then would produce the Mark 1A in the interim till the time it is ready with the Mark 2 version.

The project would give a strong push to the indigenous fighter aircraft industry as this would be the first major bulk production order for the planes, Defence Ministry sources said.

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Wheeler Island, off the coast of the East-Indian state of Odisha is India's primary missile testing site. In April 2012 India became the sixth country to acquire an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, when it successfully test-launched the Agni-V. Already a possessor of nuclear weapons, India joined the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States as the only countries with a proven capability to deliver nuclear warheads at intercontinental ranges. The Indian Defence Research and Development Organization, or DRDO is responsible for missile development in India. The DRDO has four testing sites; three at Chandipur-on -Sea, and one due south at Wheeler Island.

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Indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant has suffered major damage due to ''human error'' and has not sailed now for more than 10 months, say sources in the Navy. ​

Arihant is the most important platform within India’s nuclear triad covering land-air-sea modes.​

Arihant’s propulsion compartment was damaged after water entered it, according to details available with The Hindu. A naval source said water rushed in as a hatch on the rear side was left open by mistake while it was at harbour. ​

The incident resulted from a hatch being mistakenly left open near the rear of the hull of the multi-billion dollar submarine while it was docked. Water came rushing into the vessel's nuclear propulsion compartment doing significant damage to the sensitive systems and infrastructure located there. Large sections of pipes had to be cut away in the aftermath, further complicated the repair effort. The vessel is powered by an 83 megawatt pressurized light-water reactor that uses enriched uranium fuel. ​

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"To meaningless French Idealism, Liberty, Fraternity and Equality...we answer with German Realism, Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery" -Prince von Bülov, 1870-
"Knowledge is power, and power corrupts. So study hard and be evil."